# CVE-2026-34443: FreeScout: SSRF protection bypass via broken CIDR check in checkIpByMask()

> Attackers can bypass SSRF protections in FreeScout to access internal private network resources due to a broken IP validation check.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.9 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 31 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 1 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-c9v3-4c59-x5q2

## What is CVE-2026-34443?

CVE-2026-34443 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in freescout-help-desk freescout, published on 31 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. Prior to version 1.8.211, checkIpByMask() in app/Misc/Helper.php checks whether the input IP contains a / character. Plain IP addresses never contain /, so the function always returns false without checking any CIDR ranges. The entire 10.0.0.0/8 and 172.16.0.0/12 private ranges are unprotected. This issue has been patched in version 1.8.211.

Weakness: CWE-918 (Server-Side Request Forgery)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-34443?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Freescout Freescout.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-34443?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-34443 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-34443 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-34443 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in freescout-help-desk freescout

- [CVE-2026-28289](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-28289/): FreeScout 1.8.206 Patch Bypass for CVE-2026-27636 via Zero-Width Space Character Leads to Remote Code Execution (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-27637](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-27637/): FreeScout's Predictable Authentication Token Enables Account Takeover (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-32754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32754/): FreeScout: Stored XSS via Unescaped Email Template Rendering ({!! $thread->body !!}) (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2024-29185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-29185/): FreeScout OS Command Injection vulnerability (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-40498](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40498/): FreeScout has Authentication Bypass and Information Disclosure in SystemController via /system/cron (high 8.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-34443 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-34443 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in freescout-help-desk freescout, published on 31 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-34443 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: freescout-help-desk freescout. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34443/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34443/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-34443
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-34443
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-34443

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34443/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.